Supporters must have collected a minimum of 66,593 valid signatures from registered voters by December 2, 2009; except for veto referenda, where they must have collected 33,297 signatures. The approved measures were then reviewed by the Legislature.

If the Massachusetts Legislature did not approve of the initiative by the May 4, 2010 deadline, petition organizers must then obtain signatures from about 1/2 of 1% of voters who voted in the last governor election and submit to local clerks by June 23, 2010.